Books published by National Academies Press

"Chemistry plays a pivotal role in the strength of the U.S. economy and the advancement of humankind. Chemists' achievements include life-saving pharmaceuticals, advanced energy solutions, improved agricultural productivity, and novel materials used in products from clothing to electronic devices. The many sectors reliant on the U.S. chemical economy account for about 25% of the U.S. GDP and support 4.1 million U.S. jobs. However, a new and evolving chemistry landscape requires changes with regard to funding, training, and a focus on integrating sustainability into manufacturing, product usage, and product disposal. This report identifies strategies and options for research investments that will support U.S. leadership while considering environmental sustainability and developing a diverse chemical economy workforce with equitable opportunities for all chemistry talent. The report recommends that funding agencies and philanthropic organizations who support the chemical sciences fund as large a breadth of fundamental research projects as possible. Chemical industry and their partners at universities, scientific research institutions, and national laboratories should align the objectives of fundamental research to directly assist with new practices toward environmental stewardship, sustainability, and clean energy. Additionally, the report recommends that funding agencies make substantial investment toward education research to enable innovative ways of teaching about emerging concepts, tools and technologies"--

"Heritable disorders of connective tissue (HDCTs) are a diverse group of inherited genetic disorders and subtypes. Because connective tissue is found throughout the body, the impairments associated with HDCTs manifest in multiple body systems and may change or vary in severity throughout an affected individual's lifetime. In some cases, these impairments may be severe enough to qualify an eligible child or adult for monetary benefits through the U.S. Social Security Administration's (SSA's) Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income program. SSA asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to convene an expert committee that would provide current information regarding the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of selected HDCTs, including Marfan syndrome and the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, and the effect of the disorders and their treatment on functioning. The resulting report, Selected Heritable Disorders of Connective Tissue and Disability, presents the committee's findings and conclusions"--

'Long COVID' refers to the wide range of long-lasting symptoms experienced by some patients after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. The most common symptoms include fatigue, headache, brain fog, shortness of breath, hair loss, and pain. At this time, there are many knowledge gaps related to Long COVID, including the prevalence of the condition, the impact of the symptoms on survivors' ability to function, and the long-term course of the condition. While many individuals with Long COVID recover within one year, others experience little or no decrease in symptom severity over time. Long COVID symptoms can affect a person's ability to work and otherwise function in daily life, so people with the condition may need to utilize programs such as Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and the Supplemental Security Income Program (SSI). The Social Security Administration (SSA), which administers both of these programs, requested that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine host a public workshop to discuss research into the long-term health effects of COVID-19, their impacts on individuals and populations, and how the SSDI and SSI programs can support individuals who suffer disability as a result of Long COVID. This publication summarizes the presentation and discussion of the workshop.

The Forum on Regenerative Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a two-day virtual public workshop to address knowledge gaps in the understanding of promising approaches to manipulate the immune system and/or the regenerative medicine product to improve outcomes of tissue repair and regeneration in patients. The workshop, titled Understanding the Role of the Immune System in Improving Tissue Regeneration, explored the role of the immune system in the success or failure of regenerative medicine therapies. Participants considered potential strategies to effectively prepare patients' immune systems to accept regenerative therapies and increase the likelihood of successful clinical outcomes and also discussed risks associated with modulating the immune system. This Proceedings of a Workshop highlights the presentations and discussions that occurred during the workshop.

To examine the potential role of companion animals as sentinels of relevant, shared environmental exposures that may affect human aging and cancer, the National Cancer Policy Forum held a workshop in collaboration with the Forum on Aging, Disability, and Independence and the Standing Committee on the Use of Emerging Science for Environmental Health Decisions to explore this promising and underutilized pathway for research. Presentations and panel discussions covered the current state of the science and pathways for accelerating research, along with opportunities and challenges for using this novel translational approach to exposure science to advance human health. This Proceedings of a Workshop outlines the presentations and discussions that occurred during the workshop.

Despite being preventable and curable since the middle of the twentieth century, tuberculosis (TB) has long persisted as the world's deadliest infectious disease, with the communities most devastated by TB among the poorest and most vulnerable in the world. Only about half of people with TB receive successful treatment each year. As the global threat of antimicrobial resistance continues to escalate, so do cases of drug-resistant TB, or TB that is resistant to various antibiotics that constitute standard treatment regimens. In response, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Forum on Microbial Threats held a two-part virtual workshop on July 22 and September 14-16, 2021 titled Innovations for Tackling Tuberculosis in the Time of COVID-19. The aims of the workshop were to evaluate the current status of TB elimination, assess the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global fight against TB, and examine technical and strategic innovations that could be leveraged to meet the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis targets in 2022 and The World Health Organization's END TB Strategy targets by 2030. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions of the workshop.

Within the past decade an ever-growing number of New Space organizations have emerged that are unencumbered by legacy practices and constraints. By reimagining, creating, and continuously improving SmallSat space technology a new and growing space ecosystem is now in place that is capable of serving a broad stakeholder community of both traditional users and new or nontraditional users. Current commercial practices are expanding with capabilities including technology and business-driven applications that open the door to a broad and vibrant ecosystem offering a wide range of solutions capable of supporting a growing range of stakeholders. In parallel to traditional approaches, space infrastructure related to manufacturing, such as customized spacecraft buses, instruments, and sensors--including high-resolution imaging and radar systems rivaling the performance of traditional systems--are emerging in both growing volume and with constantly improving capability. On the operational commercial ground stations are now routinely available, as are data management and analytics including cloud computing for data access and archiving. Thus, if properly encouraged and nourished, a broadly capable ecosystem can emerge including new business opportunities for data fusion, analysis, and databuys, as well as ground/space communications that can equally benefit both traditional and nontraditional user communities. Leveraging Commercial Space for Earth and Ocean Remote Sensing assesses the feasibility and implications of creating and exploiting partnerships for developing, deploying, and operating a system of satellites and supporting infrastructure capable of sensing ocean, coastal, atmospheric, and hydrologic data of sufficient scientific quality to enable prediction models and to support near real time applications of national interest. This report identifies and describes promising options for such a system.

Training police in the knowledge and skills necessary to support the rule of law and protect the public is a substantial component of the activities of international organizations that provide foreign assistance. Significant challenges with such training activities arise with the wide range of cultural, institutional, political, and social contexts across countries. In addition, foreign assistance donors often have to leverage programs and capacity in their own countries to provide training in partner countries, and there are many examples of training, including in the United States, that do not rely on the best scientific evidence of policing practices and training design. Studies have shown disconnects between the reported goals of training, notably that of protecting the population, and actual behaviors by police officers. These realities present a diversity of challenges and opportunities for foreign assistance donors and police training. At the request of the U.S. State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, the Committee on Law and Justice of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine examined scientific evidence and assessed research needs for effective policing in the context of the challenges above. This report, the second in a series of five, responds to the following questions: What are the core knowledge and skills needed for police to promote the rule of law and protect the population? What is known about mechanisms (e.g., basic and continuing education or other capacity building programs) for developing the core skills needed for police to promote the rule of law and protect the population?

Academic preparation is critical to increase Black representation in Science, Engineering, and Medicine, but so, too, are such interrelated factors as providing mentoring and role models in sufficient numbers, adequately funding school and community support services, and analyzing the intentional and unintentional consequences of a range of policies and practices. To address these issues, the Roundtable on Black Men and Black Women of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a virtual workshop on September 2 and 3, 2020. Titled "Educational Pathways for Blacks in Science, Engineering, and Medicine: Exploring Barriers and Possible Interventions," the workshop provided a platform to explore challenges and opportunities, beginning in the earliest years of life through K-12 schooling, undergraduate and postgraduate education, and into the workforce. Presenters throughout the workshop provided perspectives from research and from their own experiences to discuss the need for systemic solutions inside and outside of formal education institutions. This publication summarizes the presentation and discussion of the workshop.

During the past 25 years, the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, in collaboration with the Russian Academy of Sciences, have carried out a wide variety of activities to improve understanding of the challenges in containing and reducing ethnic conflicts, violent extremism, and terrorism. Roots and Trajectories of Violent Extremism and Terrorism provides an overview of this cross-ocean program, which has involved American and Russian scientists, engineers, and medical professionals from a large number of government agencies, leading research institutions, think tanks, educational institutions, analytical centers, and consulting and commercial firms in the two countries. This report highlights challenges addressed by the academies over many years that remain of current interest as the U.S., Russian, and other governments continue to cope with old and new forms of aggression that threaten the livelihood of populations at home and abroad.

Since 1944, the National Research Council (NRC) has published seven editions of the Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle. This reference has guided nutritionists and other professionals in academia and the cattle and feed industries in developing and implementing nutritional and feeding programs for beef cattle. The cattle industry has undergone considerable changes since the seventh revised edition was published in 2000 and some of the requirements and recommendations set forth at that time are no longer relevant or appropriate. The eighth revised edition of the Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle builds on the previous editions. A great deal of new research has been published during the past 14 years and there is a large amount of new information for many nutrients. In addition to a thorough and current evaluation of the literature on the energy and nutrient requirements of beef in all stages of life, this volume includes new information about phosphorus and sulfur contents; a review of nutritional and feeding strategies to minimize nutrient losses in manure and reduce greenhouse gas production; a discussion of the effect of feeding on the nutritional quality and food safety of beef; new information about nutrient metabolism and utilization; new information on feed additives that alter rumen metabolism and postabsorptive metabolism; and future areas of needed research. The tables of feed ingredient composition are significantly updated. Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle represents a comprehensive review of the most recent information available on beef cattle nutrition and ingredient composition that will allow efficient, profitable, and environmentally conscious beef production.

Sediments, ice, corals, and trees are just some of the natural storehouses of information that help tell the complicated history of Earth's climate. Paleoclimate researchers use these "proxies," in combination with numerical models, to gain understanding of the magnitudes, rates, and drivers of past climate variability with the goal of informing understanding of current and future change in Earth's climate system. The Paleo Perspectives on Climate Change (P2C2) program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) has advanced paleoclimate research through proxy development, data-model comparisons, and synthesis work, and has facilitated interdisciplinary collaboration that has contributed to the growth of the field. This new publication highlights discussions at a June 2021 workshop that focused on identifying potential future paleoclimate research directions to further advance understanding of past climate and better inform the public and decision makers about the expected future.

Widely available, trustworthy government statistics are essential for policy makers and program administrators at all levels of government, for private sector decision makers, for researchers, and for the media and the public. In the United States, principal statistical agencies as well as units and programs in many other agencies produce various key statistics in areas ranging from the science and engineering enterprise to education and economic welfare. Official statistics are often the result of complex data collection, processing, and estimation methods. These methods can be challenging for agencies to document and for users to understand. At the request of the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES), this report studies issues of documentation and archiving of NCSES statistical data products in order to enable NCSES to enhance the transparency and reproducibility of the agency's statistics and facilitate improvement of the statistical program workflow processes of the agency and its contractors. Transparency in Statistical Information for the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics and All Federal Statistical Agencies also explores how NCSES could work with other federal statistical agencies to facilitate the adoption of currently available documentation and archiving standards and tools.

"Quantum concepts hold the potential to enable significant advances in sensing and imaging technologies that could be vital to the study of biological systems. The workshop Quantum Science Concepts in Enhancing Sensing and Imaging Technologies: Applications for Biology, held online March 8-10, 2021, was organized to examine the research and development needs to advance biological applications of quantum technology. Hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the event brought together experts working on state-of-the-art, quantum-enabled technologies and scientists who are interested in applying these technologies to biological systems. Through talks, panels, and discussions, the workshop facilitated a better understanding of the current and future biological applications of quantum-enabled technologies in fields such as microbiology, molecular biology, cell biology, plant science, mycology, and many others. This publication summarizes the presentation and discussion of the workshop." --

"The National Academies Roundtable on Aligning Incentives for Open Science, established in 2019, has taken on an important role in addressing issues with open science. The roundtable convenes critical stakeholders to discuss the effectiveness of current incentives for adopting open science practices, current barriers of all types, and ways to move forward in order to align reward structures and institutional values. The Roundtable convened a virtual public workshop on fostering open science practices on November 5, 2020. The broad goal of the workshop was to identify paths to growing the nascent coalition of stakeholders committed to reenvisioning credit/reward systems (e.g., academic hiring, tenure and promotion, and grants)to fully incentivize open science practices. The workshop explored the information and resource needs of researchers, research institutions, government agencies, philanthropies, professional societies, and other stakeholders interested in further supporting and implementing open science practices. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop."--

During the past century, the Everglades, one of the world's treasured ecosystems, has been dramatically altered by drainage and water management infrastructure to improve flood management, urban water supply, and agricultural production. The remnants of the original Everglades now compete for water with urban and agricultural interests and are impaired by contaminated runoff from these two sectors. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), a joint effort launched by the state and the federal government in 2000, seeks to reverse the decline of the ecosystem. The multibillion-dollar project was originally envisioned as a 30- to 40-year effort to achieve ecological restoration by reestablishing the natural hydrologic characteristics of the Everglades, where feasible, and to create a water system that serves the needs of both the natural and the human systems of South Florida. In establishing the CERP, Congress also requested that an independent scientific review be conducted on progress toward restoration with biennial reports. The National Academies' Committee on Independent Scientific Review of Everglades Restoration Progress has provided biennial reviews of restoration progress and advice on scientific and engineering issues that may impact progress since 2004. This eighth study of the series describes substantive accomplishments over the past 2 years and reviews developments in research, monitoring, and assessment that inform restoration decision making. Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades: The Eighth Biennial Review - 2020 also reviews the recently developed Combined Operational Plan, which is a prerequisite for CERP progress in the central Everglades, and examines issues facing the northern and southern estuaries, including priorities for science to support restoration decision making.

This is the twenty-third volume in the series of Memorial Tributes compiled by the National Academy of Engineering as a personal remembrance of the lives and outstanding achievements of its members and foreign associates. These volumes are intended to stand as an enduring record of the many contributions of engineers and engineering to the benefit of humankind. In most cases, the authors of the tributes are contemporaries or colleagues who had personal knowledge of the interests and the engineering accomplishments of the deceased.

The Defense Materials Manufacturing and Infrastructure standing and planning committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop on May 19-20, 2016, to discuss the value of collaboration between the materials and civil engineering communities in addressing the following problem: People and equipment are continuously monitored through multiple organizations and instruments, but the physical infrastructure where they live, train, and deploy receives little attention until it fails or is shown to be inadequate. The workshop was organized into three sessions: (1) highway infrastructure, (2) waterways infrastructure, and (3) railways infrastructure. Within these three sessions, individual speakers gave presentations on technical, functional, and economic paradigms and answered questions from workshop participants. Following these sessions, a panel discussion was held to discuss existing gaps as well as ways to overcome challenges. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop.

Emerging techniques in data analytics, including machine learning and artificial intelligence, offer exciting opportunities for advancing scientific discovery and innovation in materials science. Vast repositories of experimental data and sophisticated simulations are being utilized to predict material properties, design and test new compositions, and accelerate nearly every facet of traditional materials science. How can the materials science community take advantage of these opportunities while avoiding potential pitfalls? What roadblocks may impede progress in the coming years, and how might they be addressed? To explore these issues, the Workshop on Data Analytics and What It Means to the Materials Community was organized as part of a workshop series on Defense Materials, Manufacturing, and Its Infrastructure. Hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the 2-day workshop was organized around three main topics: materials design, data curation, and emerging applications. Speakers identified promising data analytics tools and their achievements to date, as well as key challenges related to dealing with sparse data and filling data gaps; decisions around data storage, retention, and sharing; and the need to access, combine, and use data from disparate sources. Participants discussed the complementary roles of simulation and experimentation and explored the many opportunities for data informatics to increase the efficiency of materials discovery, design, and testing by reducing the amount of experimentation required. With an eye toward the ultimate goal of enabling applications, attendees considered how to ensure that the benefits of data analytics tools carry through the entire materials development process, from exploration to validation, manufacturing, and use. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop.

The Roundtable on Population Health Improvement of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop at Hunter College in New York City, New York on February 6, 2020, to explore the value of co-creating and keeping inclusive healthy spaces. The workshop was designed to understand and highlight the economics of inclusive placemaking and to explore its value in improving health, equity, and well-being. Placemaking (the work of creating livable, vibrant, or quality places, especially public places) draws on various traditions of community development, arts and culture, regional planning, and civic engagement, combining different disciplinary perspectives into a creative way of shaping public spaces, land use, commerce, transportation, housing, and social fabric. The workshop (1) examined the economics of this work, (2) described how inclusive placemakers gather resources to do their work, and (3) explored the social and economic value they are able to generate when places are designed with health, equity, and well-being in mind. This publication is a summary of the presentations and discussions that occurred during the workshop.

The Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) are a set of evidence-based nutrient reference values for intakes that include the full range of age, gender, and life stage groups in the US and Canada. At the request of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine convened an ad hoc committee to carry out a literature search and evidence scan of the peer-reviewed published literature on indicators of nutritional requirements, toxicity, and chronic disease risk reduction for riboflavin. Scanning for New Evidence on Riboflavin to Support a Dietary Reference Intake Review builds on the methodology for evidence scanning nutrients (which have existing DRIs) to determine whether there is new and relevant knowledge available that may merit a formal reexamination of DRIs for riboflavin. This report offers comments on the methodological approach to the evidence scan and discusses its findings and interpretation of the process to provide the study sponsors with a greater context to support their interpretation and application of the reported results.

As the largest generation in U.S. history - the population born in the two decades immediately following World War II - enters the age of risk for cognitive impairment, growing numbers of people will experience dementia (including Alzheimer's disease and related dementias). By one estimate, nearly 14 million people in the United States will be living with dementia by 2060. Like other hardships, the experience of living with dementia can bring unexpected moments of intimacy, growth, and compassion, but these diseases also affect people's capacity to work and carry out other activities and alter their relationships with loved ones, friends, and coworkers. Those who live with and care for individuals experiencing these diseases face challenges that include physical and emotional stress, difficult changes and losses in their relationships with life partners, loss of income, and interrupted connections to other activities and friends. From a societal perspective, these diseases place substantial demands on communities and on the institutions and government entities that support people living with dementia and their families, including the health care system, the providers of direct care, and others. Nevertheless, research in the social and behavioral sciences points to possibilities for preventing or slowing the development of dementia and for substantially reducing its social and economic impacts. At the request of the National Institute on Aging of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America assesses the contributions of research in the social and behavioral sciences and identifies a research agenda for the coming decade. This report offers a blueprint for the next decade of behavioral and social science research to reduce the negative impact of dementia for America's diverse population. Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America calls for research that addresses the causes and solutions for disparities in both developing dementia and receiving adequate treatment and support. It calls for research that sets goals meaningful not just for scientists but for people living with dementia and those who support them as well. By 2030, an estimated 8.5 million Americans will have Alzheimer's disease and many more will have other forms of dementia. Through identifying priorities social and behavioral science research and recommending ways in which they can be pursued in a coordinated fashion, Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America will help produce research that improves the lives of all those affected by dementia.